Best of 2015: Local music scene lush with talent

By Jay N. MillerFor The Patriot Ledger

Thursday

Dec 31, 2015 at 1:45 PMDec 31, 2015 at 1:52 PM

The year 2015 seemed to be dominated at the start by Miley Cyrus getting ever more outlandish in trying to discard her squeaky clean Disney/Hannah Montana image, and dominated at the finish by seemingly everyone in the Western World buying Adele’s latest album. Well, to dispose of those issues right away: Miley we got the message, you can put your clothes back on, and Adele certainly sings the, uh, heck, out of just about anything she touches. In between there was lots of good music in the past year, although as we say annually, we don’t get all the albums released, so our views are limited by what we did receive, or buy ourselves. Let’s sidestep the debate over whether albums still exist as a viable form, and accepting that loads of today’s music comes at us as either downloads, or streaming, in singles, or EPs of four or five songs, we’ll confine our favorites to those works of 10 songs or so, 30 minutes or more. LOCAL SCENE Let’s consider the local scene to be not just the South Shore, or the Boston metropolitan area, but New England in general. Later, we’ll list our favorite 2015 albums on a national scale, and include a jazz list as well.

“FIFTY SHADES OF BLUE” by ANTHONY GERACI, (DELTA GROOVE) Marshfield’s Geraci had perhaps the best year of any local musician, even as he was still basking in the adulation given to last year’s superb album by Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, with whom he’s played for many years. His solo effort, with many familiar faces like Lexington’s Monster Mike Welch, Boston’s Toni Lynn Washington, and Salem’s Darrell Nulisch helping out, has been a sensation on the national blues scene since its October release. Geraci finds himself nominated for no less than four prestigious Blues Music Awards, including for Best Album, Best Traditional Album, Best Song for the title cut, and the coveted Pinetop Perkins Piano Players Award. And Geraci finds time to salute one of his late Boston rivals, on the gorgeous instrumental “Blues for David Maxwell.” All the national hullabaloo is a long overdue, wholly deserved season of plaudits for one of the blues scene’s nicest and most humble guys – and a helluva musician too. “ICE FISHING” by KEVIN CONNOLLY (WEATHERVANE RECORDS) It was a big year for Marshfield musicians, as Kevin Connolly’s latest album stands among his best. The unique thing is that he did most of it while trading sound files with his brother, bassist Jim Connolly, who lives on the West Coast. Several of the songs examine the many aspects of brotherhood, and naturally Kevin uses his rapier wit, and eye for the telling detail. But there is heart and soul enough to warm a winter’s day, and a bunch of songs on other subjects, observing today’s world, too. The amazing thing is that the brothers’ music merges together perfectly, this album rocks pretty hard, and with Chris Rival on guitar and Ducky Carlisle on drums, it just may be Connolly’s best band album ever. “HUXSTER PRESENTS” by HUXSTER (SOULTONE) Carver’s little-rock-trio-that-could may have trouble coming up with album titles, but their hard rocking sound is still tight and gritty at the same time, and that ain’t easy. Paul Amenta on guitar, David Dunn on bass, and Joe Patten on drums were obviously influenced by bands like Aerosmith, but they avoid the trap of imitation and deliver their own original sound, with smart, evocative songwriting. “Facing the Fact” has earned some air time on WAAF among others, but there are 10 hot rock tunes here, and Huxster is even better on stage. All 40-something musical veterans with family lives, this threesome should be headlining arenas, but if you get a chance to catch them locally, don’t hesitate. “THE MUSCLE SHOALS SESSIONS” by AMY BLACK (RABEN RECORDS) Alabama native Black has moved from her Davis Square digs to Nashville, but we’re still claiming her as local, especially since her national tour included Quincy keyboardist Michael Murray Batson. Black didn’t just lovingly cover some Muscle Shoals classics from songsmiths like Dan Penn and Arthur Alexander, she wrote some new tunes in that style. It’s a masterpiece of soul and subtle arrangements that elevate the music and words, recorded in Muscle Shoals with many of those legendary session musicians. “Starting All Over Again” is just delectable, infectious soul given a new twist by a masterful singer. Black figures to be back in concert in the Boston area frequently – don’t miss her. “GLORY JUNKIES” by DANIELLE MIRAGLIA (www.DANIELLEM.com) Boston songwriter Miraglia, who admits to being from Revere, has sharpened her lyrical eye on her third album, mixing wit and poignance in equal measures. She’s backed by a small combo of variable size here, and the result is a laidback Americana sound that fits her well. (Catching her in concert last month, her solo guitar work was quite impressive.) The title cut is a tart look at our ego-centric culture a la Facebook etc., while “Heat of the Win” takes a sympathetic look at Bill Buckner’s worst moment, through the eyes of a lifelong Red Sox fan – how can we resist that song? “TALES OF THE MIDDLE CLASS” by JESSE AHERN (www.JESSEAHERN.com) This year’s batch of songs from Wollaston’s Ahern is available at his website for free download, and it’s a cool collection of mostly acoustic based songs about common working folks trying to get by in these trying times. Ahern previously led the Ramblin’ Souls, and has fronted numerous punk-rock flavored local outfits, but this album, probably inspired by the Street Dogs’ acoustic outing in 2014, puts the focus on his songwriting, which has always been a strong point. “Highway of Life” and “A Letter Home” show a songwriter coming into his own. These days Ahern is singing with his Roots Rock Rebel Revue, a skilled New Bedford quartet, and finding a nice middle ground between the rootsy and punky elements. Ahern cites Joe Strummer as a major influence, and Clash fans will not be disappointed to hear his new music. “HUMAN KIND” by SONIC DISORDER (www.SONICDISORDER.com) There are still new wrinkles to be found in heavy metal rock music, as this Weymouth quartet proves with this 11-song collection. The best features here are intelligent songwriting, and a singer (Rick DiPersio) you can actually understand, which are both too rare in metal these days. “Superhero” brings the thump, while the title cut leaves you thinking. A tune like “Storm’s Coming” jumps off the CD with the good, clean sound this CD boasts throughout. The rhythm section is killer, as proven on the “Breathe” track, and the whole band handles the transition from ballad-to-crunching rock on “Toy Soldier” with aplomb. Just like any other genre, the key to heavy metal is good songs, and these guys have ‘em. “RECKLESS SKYLINE” by CAITLIN CANTY (www.CAITLINCANTY.com) Vermont’s Canty spends a lot of time performing around the Boston area, and this fine album was produced by Boston songsmith Jeffrey Foucault, who also plays guitar, with Beantown’s Billy Conway on drums. Canty’s work here will remind listeners of the best of Buddy and Julie Miller both for its stark arrangements and indelible, straight-to-the-bone lyrics. Canty’s high-alto voice is also marvelously expressive; “My Love for You Will Not Fade” is hauntingly beautiful; “Brightless Day” has a timeless quality, almost like a hymn; and “Enough About Hard Times” is both a jaunty acoustic rocker, and the kind of tune you can easily imagine Woody Guthrie doing. Canty’s music gets you where you live. “NEW MISCHIEF” by DYLAN SEVEY & THE GENTLEMEN (www.DYLANSEVEYANDTHEGENTLEMEN.com) By pure coincidence we heard this Rhode Island quintet open two shows at The Narrows Center this year, and they are quite simply one of the best Americana/country-rock bands we’ve heard in the past five years or so, with sharp, insightful songwriting, topnotch musicians, and a compelling frontman in Sevey. Dig the 1960s-psychedelic vibe on “Here Goes Nothing,” or the Dylanesque “This Will Be The One That Kills Me.” Revel in the way the spacey, skittering organ lines kick the title cut up into swirling rock, capped by a fiery but very moving guitar solo. Just savor the creative fire behind epic tunes like the seven-minute “The Part You Never See,” and try and hear this quintet live sometime soon. “THE STOOLS” by LANCE NORRIS ET AL (WCTV (Wareham) series) This last entry is not an album, but a video series created by Cohasset comedy writer/actor Lance Norris, depicting the fictional adventures of “America’s Greatest Garage Band.” Fans who know Norris from the halcyon days of WBCN will immediately realize that these pseudo-documentary entries are delightfully tilted; it’s like one of those PBS programs on great artists, but strained through his iconoclastic, and often shockingly, laugh-out-loud prism. Norris mixes in real events and real characters, kind of like a bizarro “Forrest Gump” meets “Spinal Tap” effect, and the cast of local performers lends it an affable feel, but it’s all done with a straight face, making it a neat send-up of all those “serious” music documentaries you’ve seen. Norris is shopping the series around, but will any network dare to carry it? Let’s hope so, but in the meantime find these episodes on YouTube.

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